It all started with an ice cream cone.
Mint chocolate chip to be exact.

It had been a fairly hot day in Illinois, so Johnathan had brought Will and El out as a surprise.

Surprises like that had become quite normal lately, especially when it came to El. Will suspected Johnathan was trying to bribe her into viewing him as the superior brother.

So there the two siblings sat, under a shady green umbrella. El was all too focused on devouring her sugary treat before it melted. As for Will, his mind wandered to something else.

Dare I say, someone else.

Three tables down sat a boy he'd never seen before. Understandable, seeing as the Byers had just moved here.

But as minutes passed, Will found himself unable to take his eyes off of him.

Was it his hair? The way it fell just over his sparking blue eyes...
Or maybe it was his noticeably pink lips. Whenever he'd go to lick the ice cream off of them Will felt his heart melt just like the cone in El's hand.

But wait. This gorgeous stranger... was a boy.

Will stopped. He looked down at his feet, his face overly flushed. Why was his heart racing at the sight of another boy? Where were these feelings even coming from?

It's safe to assume that for the remainder of the week before the Byers went to visit their friends in Hawkins, Will spent the majority of it alone trying his best to tackle his feelings.

His thoughts were all tangled and twisted into an impenetrable knot. But he just couldn't forget how he felt seeing that boy.

Eventually the day came, and Will found himself outside of the all too familiar Wheeler household. He knocked on the door and was instantly met by his dear friend Mike. The raven head didn't hesitate to donn a hearty grin and engulf Will in a warm hug.

They'd always been quite close.
And Mike was another boy.

Will waited for that feeling again.
Waited for his heart rate to increase, for his palms to sweat, for his mind to race miles ahead of him... but he didn't feel anything.

Maybe the hug was just too short.

Before long, the rest of the party was gathered in Mike's basement to welcome Will and El.

Of course Will felt happy to see them all. But he couldn't push down the fact that he wasn't as "normal" as everyone else.

Whenever Mike would come close to him he'd feel nervous and uneasy.
How was he to act around him now?

He slowly began to feel quite distanced from his friends, despite the fact that they were all in the same room.

His eyes flickered to Mike again.

This was the only thing he understood about himself right now. It's only rational that he have a crush on Mike, right?

Meanwhile, not far from him, Lucas sat deep in thought. He'd noticed how off Will had become around Mike since he'd gotten here. He noticed how he looked as if to be somewhere else.
He noticed how upset Will was.

He didn't hesitate to get to the bottom of it. He rose from his seat and went straight to Will, who was now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He didn't even realize Lucas was there until he'd softly called his name.

Startled, Will looked up at his friend and forced a small smile.
"Oh hey, Lucas. What's up?"

"I could ask you the same," he responded, staring intently at the shorter boy. "I don't mean to be nosy or something, but are you okay? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Will's smile faded. Was it that obvious?
"Yeah, I-I'm fine, don't worry about it. I just... I just really missed this place, I guess."

He was lying.
Lucas could tell.

And Lucas wasn't the type to overstep either. Will clearly didn't want to talk about it right now.

But something was telling him it was serious. Will was making that face. Where he scrunches up his eyebrows slightly, purses his lip, and taps his fingers against his crossed arms. He did that whenever something was troubling him.

So, without thinking much of it, Lucas took a leap of faith.

He stepped closer to Will.
Much closer.
So close Will was caught off guard.

He then moved to reassuringly place his hand on Will's shoulder, which he felt was to express that he was there and open to talk, but before he could do so, he stopped.

Will had flinched.
He instinctively inched away.
His breath was caught in his throat.
And then it came.

That oh so special feeling.

Will's heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He glanced at Mike talking with El and still felt nothing at the sight of his smile.

Yet when he turned back to Lucas, seeing the concerned look on his face, the feeling intensified.
He even felt his cheeks flush at the lack of distance between them.

Oh.

So Lucas was the one he felt this way for?
It still didn't make any sense.

All Will knew for sure in that moment was that he needed to get out of there.
He desperately needed to slow down his racing thoughts.
Of how he'd never noticed how darkly beautiful Lucas' eyes were, cased behind his long lashes. How his rounded lips looked so inviting.

"I-I'm sorry. I gotta go."
And without waiting for a response, Will dashed for the door.

All he could think of was how he needed to get away from Lucas.
Now that he knew his feelings weren't imaginary, he felt scared.

It wasn't until Will got to the bathroom and locked the door behind him that he was finally able to catch his breath.

His chest heaved as he held a hand to his heart, head against the door.

What was wrong with him?
Lucas was with Max.
Mike was with El.
Dustin was with Suzie.
Johnathan was with Nancy.

His entire life he was told he had to be with a girl. And he waited for that fuzzy feeling people always buzzed about once you find the "right gal", and it never came. But the way he felt, inches apart from Lucas, he was certain he'd never feel with a girl.

But why?
Why him?
Why'd he have to be even more of a freak, and a stupid screw up?

By then he'd slid onto the floor, his back still against the door, with silent, hot tears streaming down his face.

Lucas was his best friend, and he obviously liked girls. It seemed as though everyone else was normal except for him.

Little did he know, Lucas was on the other side of that door, his hand and forehead pressed against it.

He could hear Will's muffled sniffles from the other side and felt like a complete idiot.

He'd done this to him.
He hurt Will.

The truth is, Lucas was once confused too. It wasn't until Will had gone missing that he realized he cared a lot more about him. Thinking he was dead made him remorseful that he hadn't gotten to tell him how he felt.

Now he had the chance. Will was just a twist of a doorknob away.

He felt like he'd be standing outside that door for years before he'd gather the courage to ever confess such things to Will. But right now, he needed comfort. So he knocked.

Will quickly wiped his face with his sleeves. "Yes?" He meekly called.

"Will," Lucas started, "its me. Can I come in?"

Will stood and walked towards the sink. "Yeah" he piped as he started to splash water on his face.

Lucas walked in, closed the door behind him, and walked over to Will. After a moment, he asked, "Wanna tell me what's got you so worked up?" He asked, in the softest tone Will had ever heard him use.

Will turned to face him, and there it was again. That stupid feeling.

But he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and finally said what was on his mind.
"I... I think like you. More than just a friend," Will opened his eyes to Lucas' shocked expression and shut them tightly again,"I-Is that okay? I mean I know you're with Max and I swear I'm not trying to break you guys up I just... I'm really confused right now but this is the only thing I know for sure and I just, like, I had to get it off my chest." He opened his eyes once again and was instantly met with Lucas' lips upon his.

It only lasted about three seconds, but afterwards he felt like he'd been hit by a bus.
Will audibly gasped. His face flushed heavily and he could hear his heart pounding out of control.

Lucas pulled away quickly.
"S-sorry, I just, I, um, I-I like you too."

It was Will's turn to be dumbfounded.
"Really?"

"Yeah, I have for a while, I just didn't know how to address it, and I thought a guy as adorable as you would never like someone like me..."

Lucas looked down. He felt ashamed. He shouldn't have done that. He has a girlfriend. This is his friend.

"Lucas..."

He refused to move his gaze away from his burgundy flip flops.

"Lucas. Come on, Lucas look at me."
Will grabbed his hand and used his own smaller hand to lift the other boy's chin.

Lucas spared him a glance, and instantly never wanted to look away. Will's hazel eyes always shined like no one else's. His cheeks were still pink, and Lucas simply found him beautiful.

He squeezed Will's hand.

"I like you a lot too." Will spoke softly, and joined their lips once again.

Lucas lightly held Will's small waist and pulled him closer, with Will's hands resting on his chest.

And in that moment, Will realized he liked this intense feeling.

Where he felt his heart melt like El's strawberry ice cream.
~~🍦~~